Porn shame of UK mobile workforce

Corporate and personal devices used for work run risk of being infected by malware but workers would be too ashamed to inform employers

One in ten UK workers have used a corporate device to access pornographic content, according to a new survey from communications company Elitetele.com.

For employees using a personal device to access work content (BYOD) the number is even greater, with one in five (21 per cent) admitting to accessing such content.

Elietele.com claims there are significant security concerns over viewing pornographic content with many of the sites containing malware which could potentially access work information stored on the device. Despite this, 25 per cent of respondents to the survey of 2,000 UK workers said they were unaware of the risks involved in visiting adult websites.

The problem is exasperated by the fact that workers are too ashamed to highlight the fact that their devices had been compromised as a result. One in four women (24 per cent) and 21 per cent of men said they would be too ashamed to tell their boss.

A third of respondents (31 per cent) said that their employer finding out they viewed porn would be the most embarrassing thing they could uncover on their mobile phone. This topped evidence of job hunting (27 per cent).

‘Businesses want to give staff access to devices which can improve productivity and mobility, but they need to ensure these are equipped and updated with the latest technology to secure corporate networks from increasingly complex threats,” said Elitetele.com chief operating officer Russell Horton.

“Such websites can often infect visitors automatically when they browse and typically visitors are unlikely to complain to those running the online service, the police or their boss because of the embarrassment involved.

“This provides cyber criminals with the opportunity to peruse poorly secured corporate networks at leisure because nobody has raised the alarm and nothing is being done to stop them.

“Businesses should look at putting a Unified Threat Management facility in place alongside robust BYOD policies to safeguard against such intrusions, providing peace of mind that they have the best possible defence against cyber sleuths.”